April 25, 2008

Joffrey's MoMo tower: Even with some no-no's, it's mostly a go-go

Some day soon, you’ll be able to stand at the corner of State and Randolph and see lithe ballet dancers pirouetting in the practice rooms of the new 31-story condo high-rise where the Chicago-based Joffrey Ballet will have its headquarters. But don’t forget to check out the building. It has just the right muscle and mix of uses for State Street, even if it’s too squat to match the graceful dancers who will perfect their art inside.

Designed by Chicago architect Laurence Booth and developed by Bill Smith, head of Chicago’s Smithfield Properties, the high-rise is called MoMo (short for Modern Momentum), though Smith says that could change to Joffrey Tower if enough of the condo owners approve. Whatever its name turns out to be, the high-rise, located at 151 N. State, is an eye-popper.

Punched into its mid-section, above the four-story base that already houses a Loehmann’s and in June will gather in the Joffrey’s offices and studios, is a giant rectangular opening, about 50 feet high. On either side of this hole are two unoccupied “legs” that lift the building’s 23 condo floors above a 10-story parking garage just to its east. This bravura exercise in engineering provided the desired lake views and let the designers have some fun. Thinking of the cartoon character whose body consists of a rectangular yellow sponge and skinny black legs, they whimsically nicknamed the building “Sponge Bob SquarePants.”

The finished product represents a vast improvement on the pitifully underscaled, two-story Walgreens that most recently occupied this key parcel, a hinge between the State Street retail district and the Randolph Street theater district, and on plans for a gussied-up food market hall once proposed for the site.

True, the high-rise doesn’t live up to the standard set by Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root’s 21-story Masonic Temple, the legendary, gable-topped skyscraper built on this site in 1892 and torn down in 1939, toward the end of the Depression, so its owners could avoid paying taxes. Yet, on balance, this newcomer to the Loop is a plus: strong, straightforward, chock-a-block with activities, an old-style Chicago building with just enough 21st Century spin to make it fresh.

Reflects modern realities

In many ways, MoMo reflects how global, complex and team-oriented the practice of architecture has become.

Its luminous glass exterior was made in China and assembled in Singapore. The bottom eight floors are held up by a steel frame, whose long spans are suitable for large retail spaces, while the top 23 floors are supported by a concrete frame, whose shorter spans are better suited to condos. Inside the perimeter, massive diagonal trusses transfer the gravity loads of the concrete-framed top to the steel-framed bottom, forming the equivalent of a bridge over the big hole. Joe Burns of Thornton-Tomasetti Engineers gets the credit for achieving this unusual structural design.

The outcome is particularly successful from the pedestrian’s perspective. MoMo’s big-boned base is in perfect pitch with the sinewy structural rhythms of the Macy’s State Street store across Randolph. The transparency of the Loehmann’s, a welcome departure from a typical retail “black box,” energizes the sidewalk. A dramatic fourth-story setback allows the high-rise to be a good neighbor, matching the scale of the landmark Chicago Theatre to the north while not crowding State Street. And there’s no massive parking podium. With MoMo offering fewer than 70 parking spaces in the old Walgreens’ basement, many residents walk to work.

Fair amount of flaws

Architecturally, however, the results are mixed. Booth made the right call in cladding the tower’s two internal structures in the same exterior glass, but MoMo commits a lot of no-no’s.

For starters, its top isn’t tall enough to match the big scale of the base. Ideally, the high-rise would have been around 10 stories higher. Worse, the parts don’t make for a coherent whole. Compared to the generous openings at street level, the upper floors resemble a squashed layer cake.

Yet details help redeem the subpar overall design.

The cladding, which includes milky-white opaque panels as well as conventional see-through glass, endows the tower with subtle and delightful reflectivity. Projecting metal fins frame the glass and provide a strong sense of depth, texture and shadow. Inset balconies add to that sense of depth and signal that this is a residential building. A green roof atop the base will create a “fifth facade,” improving the top-down view of the high-rise from nearby offices and apartments—at least when the plantings are green.

While MoMo follows the lead of the Daley Center and other Miesian buildings around the Loop in expressing its internal structure, it is, happily, not a nostalgic clone. It moves the hands of the clock forward with its architecture and its uses, signaling that State Street is now a place for living and that Randolph Street’s theater district has finally come of age.

That message will be conveyed most powerfully once passersby can look into the Joffrey’s third- and fourth-floor rehearsal spaces, which will be equipped with wall-mounted barres and mirrors. A fourth-floor “black box” studio will have collapsible seating and, Smith says, will host “preview performances” of the company’s work.

Getting the Joffrey

Midway through the project, city officials leaned hard on Smith to get the Joffrey into the high-ceilinged studio spaces, which were originally meant for apartments. He and Booth had to scramble to comply. On a tour of one of the still-unfinished studios Wednesday, Smith pointed out that the ceiling required 10 layers of drywall to achieve the required sound absorption, so dancers on the fourth floor won’t sound like a herd of elephants to their counterparts down on three. A $4 million state subsidy that helped the cash-strapped ballet company buy its space in the building now seems well worth it.

The rest of the building is largely complete and continues the appealing architectural directness of the exterior. In the party and workout rooms just below the condo floors, Smith will leave the big, bridge like trusswork and its fireproofing exposed rather than covering them in drywall. “Why would we clad it?” he asks, clearly offended by the prospect.

The 184 apartments (moderately priced, one- and two-bedroom units) are simple and well arranged, with an eye toward maximizing natural light and minimizing the amount of clutter visible from outside. They seem even brighter after you emerge from the windowless corridors, where a hip, boutique hotel ambience includes eggplant purple walls. Here, even at high noon, it seems like midnight.

Back on State Street, however, the new MoMo casts a welcome glow. It’s a strong, but decidedly imperfect, work of architecture—a key step down the road toward making the once-sleepy Loop hum 24 hours a day.

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"Whatever its name turns out to be"

According to the development's website, "The MoMo Building has been renamed The Residences at the Joffrey Tower".

I can't find any pricing on that site, but from other articles I've seen, I wouldn't call these condos "moderately priced". They start at over $300,000 for a one-bedroom, don't they? (Of course, compared to New York, that's a steal, but still, moderate it's not.)